


It's a Pleasure to Meet You

by changingitlater



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Damian Wayne is Robin, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Dick Grayson is Robin, Dimension Travel, Jason Todd is Not Red Hood, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Martha Wayne is Batman, Mild Language, Past Character Death, Tim Drake is Not Red Robin, Tim Drake is Red Robin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-21
Packaged: 2021-02-16 07:13:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21503938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/changingitlater/pseuds/changingitlater
Summary: Damian had always heard about his grandparents. He knew the impact that their deaths had left on Gotham and his father. But he didn't realize the extent of which things could be different.
Relationships: Damian Wayne & Martha Wayne
Comments: 8
Kudos: 129





	1. I don't know you

She was staring up at him.

He couldn’t be real.

There had to be some terrible mistake and this couldn’t be real.

She could see him and she shouldn’t be able to. He was long gone. He had been gone for so many years. She knew where he should and it was certainly not here; but, here in front of her, in the debris of a weapon that they couldn’t stop from blasting apart into pieces, was her little boy. He looked no worse for wear, even in the scattered pieces of metal. Dressed in a banal outfit of slacks and a black sweater, as if he was being dragged out to attend one of those horribly fake events they forced him to. There were no signs of injury, there was no blood that covered him or matted into his hair, there was only a grimace on his face that didn’t seem to fit her memory in the right way.

“Bats?” She heard a voice from behind her. She couldn’t force herself to answer though, not right now. She was still on the ground, she realized and that was worrying her companion. She should get up and show them that she was fine, that she wasn’t too old to be out on the field, that she could handle herself. She was Martha Kane, dammit; and more importantly, she was The Bat of Gotham. She had been through worse.

But in all honesty, she wasn’t sure she could move.

Maybe, she had been injured. Maybe, she had taken too hard of a hit and wasn’t actually seeing anything. That this was just her mind playing a cruel trick on her.

The little boy turned towards the voice, however, securing him as real. She felt hands grab her and start to pull her away from the walls that were crumbling around them. The voice called out,“You better find someplace else, kid. I really don’t think you should be out here right now.” The voice paused for a moment before it seemed to realize “Where the hell did you come from?”

This only seemed to make the boy’s grimace deepened and he opened his mouth as if to say something before he cut himself off. He looked conflicted and glanced around at his surroundings. They seemed to confuse him as if he wasn’t sure what to make of it. Although the sight would have been strange to anyone not used to their way of life, surely.

There was debris covering mostly everything left in the destroyed warehouse they had been trying to save and there someone dressed in a costume lying in front of them. Just a few moments ago, the building had housed a new type of machinery that was selling all over the black market; now, it was buried under a pile of falling walls and metal scrapes. There had been rumors that this weapon made anything it targeted disappear without any trace. And after a few important public figures started disappearing, the league had taken the initiative to apprehend one of them. They had been attempting to salvage this one and to learn how to counteract its effects; but they arrived too late and the machine had overworked itself before exploding.

There was still a fight going on outside and it was quickly approaching the fallen walls around them. Bullets were being shot all around, effectively making it no place for a child to be. This little boy didn’t look too concerned over the shots being hired over his head, however, but more so with the fact that he was being told that he didn’t belong. Although, whatever had crossed his mind was apparently enough to convince him finally move from the middle of the blast zone and head towards them.

“Green Arrow.” He greeted her companion. His voice catching her off guard; it wasn’t anything like she expected. Instead of that of a child, his voice was too stiff, not at all interested in what was going on.

Green Arrow was standing over her, trying to help her to her feet. He only nodded in return to the boy. “I guess this is a change of plans, huh, Bats?” Arrow said to her, “What are we going to do with the kid?”

“We keep him” was the only reply she could give him after a moment of thought. He was right, though, they had failed what they had set out to do and now they would have to reevaluate their priorities to get out safely. Without the child, they both could have went out to aid in the battle; but now, they would have to take cover. There was no possibility of her leaving a child in the middle of a battle, especially one that looks the way he does. She could send Green Arrow out but she was still feeling the aftereffects of the blast. If she were to come in contact with an enemy she wasn’t sure how long she could hold them off. It would be best for the both of them if he was to stay with her.

“Well, that’s great and all but we kinda have to worry about being shot at here.” Arrow said back, “I’m sure Superman’s got everything covered but we need a way out.”

She hummed and put a hand on her communicator. She had confidence in Superman’s ability to hand himself but he was also a big softy. He would avoid the necessary force that would be required to take down these henchmen if he thought that there was an alternate solution. These men definitely fit into that category as well: young, human, and fighting without knowing why.

The gang they were apart of hadn’t informed them of what they had been guarding, which was why they had gotten as close as they had. He was probably just dodging bullets and trying to talk them down instead of taking control.

“We need an extraction from the port as well as assistance for damage control.” She spoke into her earpiece.

The device crackled to life, “Roger that. Will the med bay be required? Current members available are Wonder Woman, Flash and Robin.”

“Send Wonder Woman and Flash. The Med Bay isn’t required for immediate action. However, set it up for a checkup of a child.” That was good news, all things considered. Flash could provide the necessary assistance to get out and Wonder Woman would have the necessary mindset to take down any enemy. Now all they had to do was wait.

Whoever was in front of him was not his father.

Nor was it Grayson.

Damian couldn’t identify who was wearing the suit.

But he knew something was wrong with this entire situation. One moment, he had been at the manor. Hunting down Drake because the imbecile had let Titus out and lost control of him, resulting in Titus disappearing for the better half of an hour. Then the next thing he knew, he was staring into the mask of a Batman.

But, this one was too slim.  
And the cowl and jaw were all wrong.  
And they were too old.

His father may not be as young as many other active heroes but he wasn’t that old.

There was also the very obvious fact that he was no longer at the manor. And wherever he was, it was a disaster. There was debris covering the majority of it and the walls were crumbing down; that didn’t even include that there was gunfire entering through the holes. He would have chalked it up to a displacement of some sort with an impersonator; but, when he had greeted Green Arrow, the man had man no notion of recognization towards him. While Green Arrow may not be the smartest out of the league, he still would have some idea of who Damian was. Either as Robin or as a Wayne. He deserved more than a nod.

Unless, he was a fake as well?

It wouldn’t be out of the question to impersonate more than one member of the League if they had the audacity to try to replicate the Batman. Especially, if they were attempting to influence Damian in some way. But he had been too concerned over the well-being of this knock-off Batman to give Damian another thought.

By now, the Batman had gotten up and was talking over a communicator that was implanted into their cowl. Despite the voice modification, Damian could still hear the Gothamite voice underneath it and they had a similar way of speaking that his father did. It was almost as good as when Grayson tried to impersonate the same Batman voice. Whoever they were, they at least had that much.

His best course of action right now was to give no indication that he knew that this was not Batman. As Damian Wayne, he would have only had minimum contact with the Batman and he shouldn’t know anything was wrong. As much as he hates to do it, he would have to lower himself to that of a child and act as one would if they suddenly found themselves in the middle of a gun shoot out. Sniveling and whinny.

This was such a disgrace to his image.

Although, he was absolutely not going to whimper and cry. He would do only the bare minimum of this act. He would gather intel and find a way out after he knew what he was dealing with.

Maybe this was some test? To see how he would fair in a situation like this. To see how committed he was to keep their identity a secret. How well he was able to implement his improvising skills. Either way, he wasn’t going to fail; especially not with this bad at actors.

Apparently, they were going to wait for reinforcements. And they were going to send him to a med bay after they got out.

Well, he was not going to be cooperative with that when the time came.

But for now, they were hidden by the only fully intact wall and what could have possibly been the original entrance. It wasn’t the best option for safety, be it that much of it was exposed to the outside, but it would work well enough. He could see a Superman flying around, only half-heartedly avoiding bullets and instead trying to talk to whoever was firing at him. Imbecile. He wasn’t going to get anything done by doing that. It seemed like this impostor was able to capture the alien’s hope in humanity surprising well.

“Don’t worry too much kid. We’ve got it all under control.” Green Arrow said with a laugh after catching his expression. Apparently, he misunderstood Damian’s annoyance for concern.

Whatever worked in his favor.

They obviously did not have the situation under control given the fact they were waiting currently waiting for reinforcements and they were in a destroyed warehouse. But, again, Damian shouldn’t know that. He should be comforted by the fact that he had supposed superheroes here to protect him. That he would get out and coddled. So, he looked up at him and forced his expression to that of a small, scared smile. It seemed to fool Green Arrow and he went back to watching around them.

Then the air crackled around them and there was a boom from outside.


	2. Let's Meet the Cavalry

Flash and Wonder Woman were on course at a better speed than Martha had originally hoped. She had only called in a little while ago and their location was already increasing at a respectable speed. Which made Martha curious at how eager they had been to get out and join them. 

She had original denied them from accompanying along simply because they needed a break. Both of them had been working overtime on different cases and had taken responsibility over damage control left behind from some of their more rambunctious members. She had hoped that they would want to relax and spend time away from everything and catch up with their families and friends, but apparently that was too much to ask for. 

They both deserved the rest but they had vehemently denied the very thought of being off duty while the three of them were heading off for a mission. But reluctantly, and after a few well placed glares, they settled for being on call. And considering this mission was supposed to be a low risk exchange, she agreed, thinking it wouldn't matter in the long run. 

Their pigheadedness seemed to have worked in her favor, however, and she appreciated their availability. She still didn’t expect them anytime soon but now at least there was help on the way. 

Green Arrow and the child were off to her side. The boy was watching the sky, more than likely having spotted Superman dealing with the gangsters. Here again, he didn’t seem too concerned over all the gunfire; although, the sight of someone getting shot out of the sky would be far more interesting than anything aimed at him. Like being entranced by an action movie that was being played out in front of him on the big screen.

Whatever he was thinking caused his eyebrows to furrow and the corners of lips turn into a sneer. It was cute in an odd way. A look that on any other person’s face would have read as cynical or as contemptible but looked natural on the face of this child.

It was strange to see such an expression on a face so similar to her son’s, but now that he was so close she could see the subtle differences between them. His skin was a darker shade than her Bruce’s had been and his eyes were green instead of blue. His stature was closed off as well and the way he carried himself was not that was a normal child. It spoke of hidden abilities that were more appropriate for one of them instead of the rest of the world. 

It was concerning that he was here at all. 

Not even considering the fact that he appeared from an exploded piece of machinery, he was still a child that looked so similar to that of her dead son. The first thought that came to her mind was that he was a clone of some sort. Probably in a situation not too dissimilar to Superman’s own clone. 

Someone would have had the audacity to obtain copy her son’s DNA, change some key sequences, and eventually play him off as real to gain her trust. 

But, that night had been so long ago that it was impractical to for anyone to go after him. And, she was very successful at keeping her identity a well-kept secret. Only those incredibly close to her and worked with her for all these years would be able to tell what the significance of Bruce Wayne was to The Bat of Gotham. 

To everyone else in the world, that night had been a tragedy, certainly. It was a night where a child was ripped away from their parents. That a life was lost so soon in its beginning. But it wasn’t so different from many other families around.

In Gotham, people die. It just happened to be from a rich family, this time.

The expression on the child’s face drew the attention of Green Arrow. And he seemed to take it as an excuse to strike up a conversation with him. 

Oliver had never been the best with children but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to at least try. He prided himself in being one of the first heroes to mentor and raise a sidekick, in his own opinion successfully, despite how questionably it ended. And, even when they had their arguments, Oliver still saw Roy as his son. Being a father to him was still something he was working on, but they were improving.

Martha never agreed with the idea of sidekicks or young heroes. The thought of sending a child out into battle was so absolutely horrid that she wanted no part in it. She had qualms with any of the heroes who decided to obtain a sidekick, no matter how good they thought they were. 

Some in their community made the argument that children who possessed a metahuman gene were more capable than those who didn’t. That they would be fine.

But they were still children. 

The loss of a child was something that she wanted no one else to experience. Even the most experienced heroes can’t always prevent that. 

The child gave Green Arrow a sad smile and looked back out at the sky. It was then she noticed the blinking just out in front of them. It was faint but there was definitely something flashing a few meters from where they had taken cover. 

Then she heard the crackle. 

Immediately, she ran forwards and snatched the child up in her arms. And as soon as she did, the object exploded taking down the rest of the only wall that had been fully standing. Knocking them down. 

“We aren’t even doing anything! What the fuck!” She heard Green Arrow shout from where he had been knocked down beside her. 

The child seemed to be alright as he struggled beneath her. She had managed to keep him from the full force of the blast but now his previously clean outfit was dirty and he regarded it with distaste. It was an amusing thing to be worried about at a time like this. 

“Language” She grunted as she stood back up. Green Arrow looked slightly offended at being called out but there was a child present.

She could hear him mutter under his breath “When have you ever cared before?” That made her smirk.

Suddenly, the air changed again but she wasn’t worried this time. 

  
  


Damian felt ridiculous. 

He should have realized his proximity to the bomb no matter what situation he was in. Now, he was covered in dirt. 

He felt a little better when he saw that Green Arrow had been knocked over as well and had landed in a fairly unfaltering position and then reprised for the curse. He was always amused when adults got upset over the type of language they used. It’s such an arbitrary thing to fret over. Although, it was especially satisfying to watch someone like Todd have to swallow their pride and apologize in front of figures like Pennyworth. 

All of a sudden, the air shifted again but instead of something exploding there was a flash of red and the Flash stopped in front of the Batman. 

“So? How are things going?” Flash asked as soon as he stopped. 

This version of the Flash didn’t seem any different compared to the one he knew but then neither did Green Arrow. He seemed to move and look more like Barry Allen than Wallace West and was too tall to be Bart Allen. Which, at least he didn’t have to deal with them yet. 

“Well, what do you think? I think it’s pretty obvious.” Arrow said from his position on the ground. He had yet to get back up and was still halfway upside down. 

“You’re no fun.” Flash said back with a laugh, “No luck, huh? That’s a shame, I guess we’re just going to have to find another one.”

“There are currently three confirmed alternate machines.” The Batman said in return. 

Machine? That was why they were here? To gain access to some machine; although, they seemed to have failed at obtaining it. It was a good possibility that whatever this machine was, it was the cause of why this warehouse was no longer standing. Was it why he was here as well? 

It was such an incredibly vague description, he had no way at knowing at this point.

“Anyone want to explain the kid?” Flash asked as he looked over at Damian. Here was another hero that his family has worked in close proximity with that didn’t know who he was. He was going to have to rule out knowing anyone here at this rate. 

“Nope. We have no idea. He just kinda appeared after that thing exploded.” Green Arrow said as he finally decided that the ground wasn’t an appropriate place to be and pointed to over where Damian had first appeared. It was mostly just a hole in the ground at this point. 

“And we are alright with that because . . . ?” Flash prompted 

“We’re not. He is going for a medical evaluation and then we’ll see what to do.” The Batman finally replied back. “Take him back first. I want him up at the Watchtower, before you worry about the rest of us.” 

The Flash didn’t seem to like this idea but nonetheless he nodded and turned to speak to Damian. “Hey, kiddo. I’m the Flash, fastest man alive.” He delivered that with too much enthusiasm. “What’s your name?”

Damian could always give a fake alias. But he was also a fairly well-known figure, if these people were trying to trick him they would know who he was. To try to conceal his identity, might give away his suspicion of them. 

“Damian” was what he finally settled for. While he hated to give out his real name to a bunch of fakes at least it wasn’t his full name. There was no need to if he was playing the part of a child that was as well-known as he was in Gotham. It should be something everyone of importance knew. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Damian. Is it alright if I pick you up? I’m going to have to carry you to get you to the Watchtower.” Flash said as he was about to reach down but he was watching his expression. There was really no simple way to get out of this situation anyways, so Damian just nodded and tried to look as sheepish as possible. 

He had more pride than this, dammit.

As soon as Flash as him secure in his arms, the world around them lurched and then they were outside the main warehouse complex. There was not nearly as much damage as he initially thought. It seemed that the building they had been in took most of the fight. He could see the outline of it at the back of the complex, laying in pieces. 

Superman was still hovering in the air above the rubble, but this time it seemed he wasn’t alone. There was another figure that seemed to be talking to him. Damian supposed that it was the Wonder Woman of this act. 

“You good, kid? That can startle some people if they aren’t expecting it.” Flash checked in with him. 

“I’m alright.” 

“Nice!” He laughed, “You know, you’re a pretty lucky kid. Not many non-heroes get to go up to the Watchtower.”

And as he said that, Damian’s vision changed from the destroyed complex to a large, metal room. 

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this is the first work I've ever attempted to write, so it's going to be a learning curve. Hope this works out.


End file.
